#SMEMau Australian Disasters – 2nd Annual #SMEMchat Special Event

Members of the Colorado Virtual Operations Support team will be supporting this event.  Check it out!

This week, Virtual Operations Support Group, will facilitate a discussion on the role of social media in the management of Australian emergencies and disasters. The first #SMEMau Special #SMEMchat event on Australian Bushfires, was hosted by VOSG in Jan 2013. Since then, the importance of new technology to manage all aspects of emergency and disaster communications most effectively has been a daily reminder. Latest hot topics include #VOST, Virtual EOCs (Emergency Operations Centres), Twitter Alerts, Digital Humanitarian Support and more, including the use of Partners tasked to help manage situational awareness and public engagement in complex environments. As this social convergence is taking place, what exactly is the role of new technology in Australia, how it developing and what are the challenges?

Join us on the #SMEMau tag as we explore the issues!

Where: On Twitter, event hashtag: #SMEMau.

For those new to twitter, follow the discussion at http://bit.ly/RPe6ow or search for the #SMEMau hashtag.

When: Thursday 8th May 2014 – 1900 to 2030 US EDT

Friday 9th May 2014 – 0900 to 1030 Australia AET

For other time zones: www.timeanddate.com

“Read Ahead” Participant information posted here

Some of the major incidents in Australia 2013 – 2014 are listed here

Here’s a list of some of the major incidents experienced in Australia since our last event, as provided to us by the Emergency Management Agencies in Australia, coordinated by VOST Vic for the Virtual Operations Support Group. http://bit.ly/1imWNEM

10 Questions (example only – actual questions may change).

• How has the use of social media in emergency management in Australia changed in the past year?
• Social media lends itself well to community recovery. How can we encourage its use to enable people to help each other?
• Many people reach out for help with pets/livestock. How does social media assist in the management of animals during disasters?
• Emergency hashtags are an often-overlooked component of a communication strategy. Is your organization prepared with an emergency hashtag strategy?
• Do you use infographics to communicate with the public?
• Do you use press releases and infographics during your activations to inform the press/ public?
• What social media tools do you provide the public to help them prepare for disasters?
• Do you engage digital volunteers during a disaster? If so who?
• What social media tools do you promote to help the public help themselves and each other in the recovery phase?
• …. UAV use, Twitter Alerts, Project Self-Serve and more.

Additional questions? You can submit those in advance here: http://bit.ly/1tzmTsY

The information in this post has been 'reblogged' from VOSG.us.  Please visit VOSG.us for additional information.